Yeah, I finally decided to sell my breadmaker to make room for Venus on the countertop.

Positive Product Points

-Knockout looks, not sassy mind you, more like that red-headed German chick you used to date. you know..."Industrial"-Steamy and lots of it-Solid feel, quality grouphead-Large catch basin-Able to pull 3-5 shots in rapid order, nice when serving others or when you need a double / double

Negative Product Points

-Operation Manual is hopeless, even if you CAN read Italian. -Spent 3 months doing things wrong and getting inconsistent results due to lack of operating instructions (see my first point). -Grouphead gasket has failed several times until I got a replacement from a Montreal retailer. -Steam wand drips steadily when under pressure. Come on now what's that all about? This thing cost me $500+-I'd prefer a better way to access the reservoir water level other than lifting off the top.-Did I say the manual was lousy?

Detailed Commentary

Maybe you're like me when it comes time to make a purchase costing more than a bag of bagels. I research the heck out of it and then pull the pin. After 2 months of doing my thing, I decided on Venus. When we first met I thought, "wow, good lookin'in she is", but what about her personality? While I thought I knew a thing or two about these Italians, Venus turned out to be a little more... shall I say, un-coopertive than most I'd known. We struggled for months, blaming each other until I finally sought professional help

I got in touch with her parents at Isoamc via email and they agreed that while she was a little high spirited, if I hung in there, I would be rewarded. Here's what they told me 1. First thing, give her lots of time to warm up before you get down to business. At least 20 minutes. I can't emphasize how important this tip turned out to be 2. Get the improved filter gasket. Venus had a dirty habit of spewing out wet gounds due to repeated gasket failure 3. Use filtered water (aren't we all though?) 4. Keep her clean, rinse and scrub every 100 shots or so.

Months later I am happy to say we are a happy pair. I love her, my squeeze loves her, my friends love her. And I think you will too...

Buying Experience

Pretty straighforward internet purchase but (psssst... the net is not always the best place to buy, it's just really easy). Seller was not particualrly knowledgable when it came to solving operating problems, but luckliy there were alternatives, specifically the factory.